Middle East Experience

Migrant workers employed by private security companies are being exploited, in some cases while deployed to World Cup-related projects..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Qatar: Security guards subjected to forced labour

NLI's Islam and Middle East Collection one of the region's leading collections, includes 2,500 Islamic manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Turkish dating from the ninth to the 20th centuries.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: National Library’s Ramadan Online presents rare Islamic manuscripts for holiday

An educational booklet was created for IDF educational officers by the National Alliance Strengthening Israelis’ Connection to World Jewry.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: IDF soldiers meet and learn about Diaspora Jews

The UNICEF and UNMAS’ statement said although Iraq has not..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Landmines continue to kill more children in Iraq

Minister Bassam Mawlawi said that “the number of registered lists for the 2022 elections is 103, which exceeded the number recorded in the 2018 elections.”..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Despite call for boycott, Sunni candidates rush to register for Lebanon parliamentary elections

London said that Kantor was chosen for sanctions because he is the largest shareholder of the fertilizer company Acron which has “vital strategic significance for the Russian government".
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Russian oligarch Moshe Kantor hit with sanctions in the UK over Putin ties

Yemen’s president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has transferred his powers to a newly established presidential leadership council and relieved the vice president Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar of his duties on Thursday.The former president vacated the post 10 years after he was elected to power in 2012. He was the only candidate to stand for elections.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.In a presidential decree, the former leader said that the move came as a “desire to involve effective leaders in managing the state in this transitional phase, and affirming our commitment to Yemen’s unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity...”The new council, headed by Major General Dr. Rashad al-Alimi, will temporarily be in charge of Yemen’s political, military, and security sectors during the transition period.It will reportedly follow the provision of the “Arab Initiative” and wield the power offered to the vice president of Yemen, in addition to that of the presidents.The council head is supported by seven other members: Sultan Ali al-Arada, Tariq Muhammad Salih, Abed al-Rahman Abu Zara’a, Abdullah al-Alimi Bawazeer, Othman Hussein Megali, Aidarous Qassem al-Zubaidi, and Faraj Salmin al-Bahsani.These members will share the title of ‘Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Leadership’ and are further supported by a commission of 50 members who will work in an advisory and consultative role with the eight-member committee.There are also separate legal and economic teams. The council will end its term upon election of a new president.According to the presidential decree, the newly formed council has the authority to hold talks with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and find a solution to the incessant violence.It also has the powers to adopt foreign policy; enhance national security, and issue changes to combat terrorism; establish diplomatic relations; enable a state of emergency; and appoint governors, security directors, and supreme court judges.Currently, the warring parties in Yemen are under a two-month-long ceasefire agreement, which world powers including Saudi Arabia hope to maintain long term. The agreement followed extensive talks held by the GCC and Yemeni representatives in Riyadh.Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with the newly-formed Yemeni presidential council, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.The Kingdom on Thursday welcomed the Yemeni president’s decision and urged the body to start negotiations with the Iran-backed Houthi militia.Saudi Arabia also said it would arrange $3 billion of support to the war-torn country’s economy, according to SPA. Riyadh would provide $2 billion, and another $1 billion would come from the United Emirates, which is part of the Arab Coalition.The head of the councilAl-Alimi was formerly Yemen’s deputy prime minister under the governance of Ali Abdullah Saleh, and previously also served as the interior minister.In a major incident, al-Alimi was reportedly injured in the explosion of the al-Nahdain Mosque in the Presidential House during Friday prayer in 2011.The target was the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh and other Yemeni leaders in the country. Al-Alimi was transferred to Saudi Arabia for treatment, Al Arabiya reported, and returned to Sanaa on June 13, 2012 after a year of treatment in Saudi Arabia and Germany, before leaving Sanaa again following a coup by the Iran-backed Houthis.In 2014, Al Arabiya reported that he was the Advisor to the President of Yemen. He was also reported to hold a PhD in sociology from Ain Shams University in Egypt.Read more:UN envoy says he’s concerned about Yemen truce violationsSaudi Arabia’s humanitarian body clears over 329,000 mines in YemenUN Security Council condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: A look at Yemen’s new presidential leadership council and its powers

Hungary received the first shipment of nuclear fuel for its Paks nuclear plant from Russia by air on Wednesday, after the war in Ukraine made shipping by rail impossible, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday. Szijjarto reiterated that Hungary rejected any sanctions on Russian oil and gas, adding that imposing any sanctions on activities related to nuclear energy was also a “red line” for Hungary.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Fuel (for the Paks plant) has always come from Russia by rail via Ukraine, unfortunately ... this is no longer possible so we had to find an alternative way for shipping,” Szijjarto said in a Facebook video from Brussels. He said the fuel shipment had arrived via the airspace of Belarus, Poland and Slovakia to Hungary with all three countries’ approval, as nuclear energy is not subject to any European Union sanctions. Hungary wants to expand its Russian-built 2-gigawatt Paks nuclear power plant with two Russian-made VVER reactors, each with a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts. The project, awarded in 2014 without a tender to nuclear giant Rosatom has been often cited as a sign of warm ties between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The project has suffered delays. Orban, who was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term in elections on Sunday, told a news conference on Wednesday that Budapest wanted to strengthen its Western alliances, as Hungary’s future was in the EU and firmly within NATO. But he also said Hungary was prepared to pay roubles for Russian gas, breaking ranks with the EU which has sought a united front in opposing Moscow’s demand for payment in the currency. Read more:Australia to impose sanctions, travel bans on 67 more Russian over Ukraine warGreece to call on ICC to probe war crimes in Ukraine’s MariupolTurkey says Black Sea countries held ‘efficient’ talks on Ukraine war, floating mines
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Hungary receives nuclear fuel shipment from Russia by air

Middle Eastern carriers Emirates and Etihad each see an industry recovery from the coronavirus pandemic happening next year, airline bosses said at an industry conference on Thursday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Emirates President Tim Clark said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would delay the projected recovery to 2019 levels of traffic until the middle of next year, adding that without war in Europe he had thought the recovery was possible by the end of this year.Read more: Latent travel demand is ‘probably’ at its peak: Etihad CEOEtihad Group Chief Executive Tony Douglas told the CAPA Centre for Aviation conference he expected the industry to recover to 2019 levels by “mid-to-end 2023.”Read more: Latent travel demand is ‘probably’ at its peak: Etihad CEOEmirates airline chief sees return to profit next yearEmirates will continue flights to Russia until owners say not to: Company president
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Emirates and Etihad see airline industry recovery next year

The United Arab Emirates has called the alleged massacre of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine “shocking,” and an “alleged crime of utmost gravity” at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on April 5.The comments were made by the UAE Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Lana Nusseibeh.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The ambassador called on a cooperative investigation and urged people to “not get caught up in a war of narratives.”She added that the UAE “acknowledges” the Secretary-General’s call for that independent investigation and the appointment of the Human Rights Council’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine in the council address.Nusseibeh reiterated the need to “move towards a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.”Bucha, 37 kilometers (23 miles) northwest of Kyiv, was occupied by Russian troops for more than a month following the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.When the Russian forces pulled back last week, they reportedly left behind civilian dead on Bucha’s streets, inside buildings and buried in shallow graves.Local officials say more than 300 people were killed by Russian forces in Bucha alone, and around 50 of them were executed, according to a Reuters report.Growing numbers of Putin’s troops, along with mercenaries, have been reported moving into the Donbas, where Russia-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian forces for eight years and control two areas, the Associated Press reported.Ahead of its February 24 invasion, Moscow recognized the Luhansk and Donetsk areas as independent states. Military analysts have said Putin also could be seeking to expand into government-controlled parts of the Donbas.Ukrainian authorities are working to identify hundreds of bodies they say were found in Bucha and other towns after Russian troops withdrew and to document what they say were war crimes.The ambassador requested that the council address relief and humanitarian needs including either “local or broad-based agreements for security guarantees to allow for the safe provision of humanitarian assistance and for civilians to voluntarily evacuate safely.”On March 19, the UAE reiterated its commitment to providing assistance to civilians affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during a phone call between the foreign ministers of UAE and Ukraine.The UAE diplomat also reiterated the country’s “readiness” to support efforts being pursued to find a “peaceful solution to the dispute in Ukraine and to reach a political settlement to the crisis,” according to a WAM report.Later on March 28, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company said it was pausing investments in Russia, which represent less than one percent of its portfolio, because of the Ukraine crisis.That was the first comment by the top executive of Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s second biggest sovereign fund, about its Russian investments after the invasion.Nussebieh also touched upon the importance of preserving cultural heritage and identity, saying: “We know from our experience in the Middle East that protection of cultural sites is critical to rebuilding peace. In moments of violence and turmoil, cultural sites are essential cornerstones for collective memory and a foundation for future reconciliation.”Global food shortages were also pointed out as a growing concern amid the war by the UAE representative, offering “full support” to the problem.“Food shortages are aggravating situations already on this Council’s agenda, and these shortages are felt in other settings where high prices of basic commodities can lead to further unrest and instability, not just in this part of the world, but around the globe.“We look forward to seeing the UN Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance address these issues and offer it our full support.”The comment was reflected earlier by World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships Mari Pangestu, who said that The Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) is in a “critical” position with food and fuel as the Russia-Ukraine war continues to unfold, in an interview with Al Arabiya.Wheat and other imports from Ukraine are said to be in peril from the Russian-initiated offensive, an area already under the radar from climate-change-induced droughts.Read more:Hungary receives nuclear fuel shipment from Russia by airGerman ex-officials file war crimes complaint against RussiaAustralia to impose sanctions, travel bans on 67 more Russian over Ukraine war
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Alleged Bucha, Ukraine massacre ‘shocking:’ UAE mission to UN